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304962
"If they trust you...": Strategies to reduce ergonomic risks to workers and clients in home care
Monday, November 17, 2014
: 2:46 PM - 3:02 PM
Marsha Love, MA, MA
,
Divison of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago - School of Public Health, Chicago, IL
Felipe Tendick-Matesanz, MS
,
ROCUnited, Chicago, IL
Jane Thomason, BA
Davine Carter
,
Project Brotherhood, Chicago, IL
Joseph Zanoni, PhD, MILR
,
Division of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, UIC School of Public Health, Chicago, IL
The rapidly growing home care industry, currently employing more than one million Home Care Workers (HCWs), is projected to become one of the nation’s largest in the next decade. HCWs assist clients in managing intimate, essential acts of daily living (ADLs), e.g., bathing, toileting. This physically, emotionally challenging work places HCWs at risk for ergonomic injury; yet, they typically receive little formal job training and may lack assistive devices. Objective: In this NIOSH funded pilot project HCWs were asked to describe ergonomic risk factors in caregiving and housekeeping tasks and identify problem-solving strategies to improve ergonomic conditions. Methods: In 2012, 46 HCWs recruited by their local union, Service Employees Healthcare Illinois/Indiana, participated in ergonomics focus group discussions. The primarily female middle-aged African American participants were experienced in assisting clients with limited mobility. Findings: Transcript analysis revealed that an open, respectful communication approach can affect clients’ behavior; it may help HCWs reduce ergonomic risks to themselves and increase clients’ physical independence of movement. Conclusions: HCWs’ close observation and interaction with clients help them understand how clients’ self-perception and moods may affect mobility capabilities. They use that knowledge to determine how to work with clients in navigating ADLs. HCWs may act as coaches, cheerleaders, educators, negotiators, becoming trusted companions who clients depend on for physical and emotional support. HCWs’ behavioral insights, self-developed communications skills and caring demeanor should be recognized as a valued strategy and explored as an element of ergonomic injury prevention in home care.
Learning Areas:
Occupational health and safety
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe the role of home care workers in the health care system, identify ergonomic risk factors in home care, describe the qualitative focus group methodology, and explain the concept of emotional labor and its role in mediating ergonomic risks in home care.
Keyword(s): Occupational Health and Safety, Long-Term Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As a co-investigator on this NIOSH funded pilot project, I co-developed and pilot tested an ergonomic hazards self-assessment tool for home care workers. I subsequently developed and co-facilitated ergonomics awareness classes incorporating this tool with more than 1,000 home care workers. I have also facilitated workshops with home care workers on job stress and conducted writing groups with them in which they described work experiences, revealing the impact of emotional labor in their work.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.